The Goblet of Water
by Duff Moose
Summary: Will Ludo Bagman find the Goblet of Water and in so doing inadvertently guarantee its destruction? This short story introduces the character of Johnathan Whittaker; Hogwarts student, Quidditch superstar, and Harry Potter's new best friend.


"Hey Dean, have you heard about the Goblet of Water?"

"No, Mr. Finnegan, and I do not wish to pursue this discussion further." This is my default answer to almost everything he asks me.

"Oh, come on Dean. It's a sacred Slytherin relic, the Gryffindor counterpart to the Goblet of Fire!" He would not be so easily dissuaded this time.

"Fine.", I replied. "What is so special about this Goblet of Water?"

"Dean, you'll love this. Draco Malfoy and Ludo Bagman have discovered a map that will lead them to the treasure. But I have it on good authority that Professor Dumbledore already knows where it is. What if we got to it before them?"

"Ah, Ludo Bagman!" This was news that I could not ignore. "What an awful fool of a man. Draco should know better than to throw his lot in with him. Think of what would happen if he got his hands on this sacred Slytherin relic. He would no doubt drop it on a hard surface and it would shatter into dozens of pieces."

"But Dean, what if the goblet is made of silver and not ceramic?"

This was too stupid a question. "Don't be a fool, Mr. Finnegan. That is not a chance we can take. We will retrieve this goblet, and hand it over to Dumbledore. We shall go to his office now so as to divine its whereabouts, and then we will be off!"

The two of us then left the dormitory and entered the hallway. Hogwarts is an unambiguously frivolous place, fraught with dangers that are not appropriate for seventeen year old boys such as us. And yet, as we are among those few who have survived into our seventh year we are clearly more than prepared for whatever awaits us on our journey to Dumbledore's office.

"Dean, look, it's Peeves!"

Indeed it was. Peeves is a poltergeist of some infamy, having been personally responsible for Mr. Finnegan's unsatisfactory marks on his O.W.L.S. (Peeves had used a magical cryptogram to scramble the text on his exam pamphlet.). Normally I would handle his distractions with as much grace as I can be allowed, but today required a more expedient solution.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Peeves fell to the ground, dead.

"Was that really necessary, Dean? I'm not sure he had even noticed us." Mr. Finnegan seemed somewhat concerned.

"Once again, we do not have the luxury to take chances. We must make it to Dumbledore's office as quickly as possible."

And so we continued.

Waiting for Professor Dumbledore to answer his door would have taken too much time, so my companion and I forced the doors open. Inside we saw Dumbledore, Professor Quirrell, Professor Snape, and Lord Voldemort in the midst of a game of Pinochle. We were not immediately noticed.

"Quirinus, you daft fool! How do you expect to take 31 points with a meld of 7? Clearly it was not only Severus you were bluffing as you pushed our required score for the next hand into the stratosphere!"

"Oh, Albus!" Snape responded with a smile on his face, "If he had truly pulled a successful bluff on me I would not have so easily allowed him to call suit!" Quirrell scowled and said nothing.

"Excuse me sir!" I could wait no longer. "We must temporarily have your attention. I am to understand that you know the location of the Goblet of Water, and I cannot allow that dastardly Ludo Bagman to get his hands on it."

"Oh, hello Dean. Yes, I suppose you are correct. Unfortunately I no longer remember where I saw it. Do you have any idea Tom?"

"Not as such." he responded, "But everyone knows that Bill Weasley is your closest confidant. If you ever told anyone, it would have been him."

I did not waste my time in that room any longer. Mr. Finnegan and I set out to find Bill Weasley.

As it turns out, Bill Weasley is not a difficult man to find. We found him in his classroom teaching mathematics to a series of fifth year students.

"And that is why we no longer permit the use of elves in solving basic arithmetic. We may never know what happened to poor Zacharias Smith." Professor Weasley was, as always, a particularly somber man.

"Excuse me sir! I hate to interrupt your lecture, but I have been entrusted with a matter of great importance. Professor Dumbledore has informed me that you might know where to find the Goblet of Water. You must understand, if I do not find it soon then Ludo Bagman might find it first. The consequences of this could be catastrophic."

"Of course, lad, Albus told me about it many years ago. It is hidden in a secret vault in the Malfoy Manor. Old Abraxas is a decent enough fellow, and he will certainly be willing to help you on this task."

We left for the Manor straight away.

We arrived at the manor shortly after dusk.

"Dean, look, it's Aragog!"

Sure enough, it was indeed Aragog. A perpetual nuisance if ever there was one, he had been seen on multiple occasions harassing underclassmen and making them late for class. Why he was all the way out here I was not aware.

"Oh, look, it's Dean Thomas and Mr. Finnegan!" he sneered. "Draco told me you might be here, and I decided to stay around and gloat at your failure. The Goblet of Water has been taken!"

He started clapping his hands together, with palpable sarcasm. I had limited patience for this level of mockery, and he was blocking our way in.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Aragog fell to the ground, dead.

"Oh, come on Dean. Did you really have to do that?"

"Yes, Mr. Finnegan, I did. Now come with me inside the manor. I believe Abraxas might know the where Ludo Bagman is headed next. We have no time to lose."

I broke the lock on the door, and we made our way in. We found Abraxas sitting in an armchair, reading from a motorcycle magazine. There were dozens of photographs on the mantelpiece above the fireplace, including a recent family picture with Abraxas, Narcissa, Lucius, Draco, and Goyle. This was clearly a happy household.

"And what can I do for you gentlemen today?" Professor Weasley was correct; Abraxas seemed like a decent man.

"Hello Mr. Malfoy, my friend and I are searching for the Goblet of Water. We believe that you were in possession of it before recently giving it to Ludo Bagman. He cannot be allowed to have it. Do you have any idea where he was headed?"

"Yes, my boys, I believe I do. His intention was to show the goblet to his Potions professor, Horace Slughorn."

We wasted no time making out way back to the school.

Mr. Finnegan and I arrived at the front gates of Hogwarts, and we saw Jonathan Whittaker, Harry Potter's best friend and all around incredible guy.

"Hello, Jonathan! How are you doing on this fine day? Mr. Finnegan and I are in a bit of a hurry and we are hoping to know if you'd seen Ludo Bagman."

"Sorry Dean," he replied, cheery as usual, "But I just came back from Quidditch practice with Harry and the gang. We started playing much better once Harry promoted me to Captain. I hear that Hannah Abbot is restructuring the Slytherin team as we speak in response! But I have not seen Ludo Bagman, sorry."

Despite my companion wanting to continue speaking with Jonathan, the two of us departed immediately for Professor Slughorn's classroom.

We were waylaid in the hallway by Professor Trelawney. Far and away the least liked teacher in the school, he was infamous for his unreasonably difficult exams. He even refused to assign study guides to the upperclassmen.

"Ha ha ha, it seems you are as hilariously inept at recovering a sacred Slytherin relic as you are at Transfigurations! Ludo Bagman has defeated you, Dean Thomas, and I will stand here and continue to laugh until…"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Professor Trelawney fell to the ground, dead.

"Come on Dean, I know he's annoying but certainly we could have solved this problem differently?" It seemed that there would be no end to Mr. Finnegan's inane questions.

"For the last time, my friend, we must retrieve the Goblet of Water. Professor Trelawney is always an inconvenience at best, and today we cannot afford inconveniences."

As we entered the Potions classroom, we saw Slughorn sitting at his desk, clutching the broken pieces of what might have once constituted a goblet.

"Wow Dean, you were right. The goblet was made of ceramic!"

"Not quite, my boy." Professor Slughorn said as he dropped the fragments with a disgusted look on his face. "What you are looking at is glass. Ludo Bagman blundered in here and knocked all of my flasks onto the ground. I suppose he did have me look at a goblet though. Some Slytherin relic, I hear? In any case, I didn't recognize it so he left for the Slytherin common room. He said that was the rightful place of the goblet."

This was devastating news. As a member of Gryffindor, I knew that the Slytherin common room would forever be off limits. Truly, Ludo Bagman had finally beaten me.

"Dean, what are we going to do?" Mr. Finnegan asked this as we made our way back to the Gryffindor dormitories.

"I do not know, my good friend. We may have been defeated today, but tomorrow always holds new possibilities. "

We walked over to where several students were talking. The Gryffindor Quidditch team had apparently been destroyed during the evening's game against Slytherin. Harry Potter himself had broken three bones after Jonathan Whittaker accidentally crashed into him. I found it a fitting parallel to the events that Mr. Finnegan and I witnessed today. Harry gets busted half to pieces twice a week, and yet is back up on his feet the very next day. If he can do that, maybe I can continue my crusade against the menace of Ludo Bagman at the later date.

"So Dean, do you want to study for Transfigurations tonight?" I hardly had the patience for any more questions, but I answered this last one.

"No, that would be a waste of time. We'll probably have a substitute teacher tomorrow, and they usually postpone exams when that happens."


End file.
